


take another little piece of my heart

by MomoYoMaki



Series: gently play on your heart strings [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: (but I don't think anyone will cry), (but mokuton so), (i did not see them coming), And Rin, Carnivorous Plants, Character Death, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, M/M, Mokuton, Obit does some soul searching, Obito is overprotective, So is Kakashi, Teamwork, Time Travel, and the helicopter mom of the year award goes to-, basically they try to out protect each other, brief panic attack, or the results thereof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:18:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18354698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MomoYoMaki/pseuds/MomoYoMaki
Summary: Obito knows bone deep that he will never quite be the same again after living captive under the influence of Uchiha Madara, can feel the change under his skin were green things writhe. Kakashi's differences extend past his new found sense of humor, live in the complete disregard for others opinions. The change in Rin is subtler, something brewing under her quiet composure that he can't quite see the shape of yet.





	take another little piece of my heart

**Author's Note:**

> This was so much fun to write.  
> Title from Queen's Let Me Live, my go to KakaObi song.

Minato and Kushina are going to have a baby. One they are admittedly going to name  _ Naruto _ , but considering who his mother is Obito is just thankful the kid isn't getting named Ramen. And the fact that the name is from Jiraiya's only none sleazy book is strangely... sweet. Obito hasn't been back in the village long, but he's already seen the end of the war, Minato's appointment as Hokage, and now he's a few hours away from having survived existing in the vicinity of the Red Hot Blooded Habanero giving birth. Obito isn't entirely sure why Minato put him on Kushina's guard. Kakashi makes sense, as does having Rin there for the delivery seeing as she's one of the few medics Minato actually trusts. And sure, Minato trusts Obito too, but he doesn't even feel in complete control of his body's new parts yet and Obito can think of five other shinobi off the top of his head more physically fit for the job. Unless this is some sort of power play on Minato's part and he's going to quietly let the names of Kushina's guard slip out after the fact to help boost the villages opinions of Obito himself, and more importantly Kakashi. Obito is deeply glad the Sandaime stepped down when he did because Obito isn't sure how he'd have managed to follow the man when he so clearly still distrusts Kakashi. But it's not just Sarutobi that has taken to watching Kakashi a little more closely, is the thing. Obito has noticed others, jounin in particular, side eyeing him on the street and Obito suspects there's more to it then his own rescue. Not that  _ Kakashi _ seems overly concerned with the decline of his reputation, which is downright baffling whenever Obito recalls some of Kakashi's more passionate lectures about a shinobi's purpose in life before the Kanabi Bridge mission. None of those old sentiments are leaving his mouth now, in fact, Obito would go so far as to say Kakashi’s topics of conversations have done a complete 180. That doesn’t mean he’s lost his uncanny knack for saying the wrong thing, in the bluntest way, at the worst moment. 

“Why don't you just talk to it?”

Kushina, flushed and gritting her teeth, turns to squint uncomprehendingly at Kakashi as Minato leads her quickly down the hall. Obito and Rin follow suit even as they try to hurry her along.

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s clearly sentient.” Kakashi waves a vague hand towards her stomach and Obito thinks for a horrified second that he’s talking about her baby. “You could negotiate with it, then all of this wouldn’t be a problem.”

"...are you talking about the  _ Kyubi? _ " Kushina asks, her voice very nearly a shriek, and she digs in her heels and ignores Minato's squawk to round on Kakashi. 

"Kushina, I don't think now-" Minato tries, but he has never been able to rival his wife's vocal chords.

"You want me to  _ negotiate with the Kyubi?! _ "

"Foxes are related to dogs," Kakashi continues, oblivious to his rapidly approaching death, "I've heard they are really very trainable-"

Kushina's already red cheeks darken considerably as he talks, but Obito is certain this time it's the rage adding colour.

"Kakashi, shut up." Rin snaps and then forcibly drags Kushina, and by extension Minato, the last few steps down the hall and into the delivery room where an unimpressed Biwako is waiting.

The door slams shut with rather more force than necessary and Obito turns his incredulity on Kakashi. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you do that on purpose.”

Kakashi grins, clearly visible through the mask, and whips out a book as he lounges back against the wall. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I'm sure."

Obito is speechless for a long moment and then hisses. "It  _ is _ on purpose!"

Kakashi places a dramatic hand over his heart and adopts a wounded air, but doesn't raise his eyes from his book even once. "I am hurt by your lack of faith in my moral integrity."

"Not yet you're not." Obito grumbles, but deflates quickly and moves over to join Kakashi against the wall. "Put the book away, Bakashi, we're on duty." 

"You've got it covered." Kakashi counters.

Obito feels annoyance spark and he crosses his arms over his chest. "I've got one eye and half a body made of plant matter, I could barely cover a genin." 

That, at least, draws Kakashi's gaze away from his book. "You've got one of the most powerful Mangekyo in existence and mokuton. Why do you think Minato-sensei placed you here?"

"I- what?" Obito asks, completely thrown off track.

Kakashi rolls his eye. "In the case of an emergency you could either kamui away with the baby or subdue the Kyubi with your mokuton. You're the ideal guard."

Obito splutters. " _ What?! _ Is that what sensei thinks?! I can barely control my mokuton, much less hold back a biju!"

"Ah, you don't give yourself enough credit."

" _ Did you not see the front door yesterday?! _ "

Kakashi pauses at that consideringly. "That  _ was _ a rather impressive display... The foot long thorns really added something to the decor."

"I was trying to  _ shrink _ a flower! Outside the apartment!"

Kakashi, the utter bastard, has the gall to roll his eye again. "Don't worry so much, Minato-sensei and Kushina have spent months on the seals. You won't even need to lift a finger, flesh or plant matter."

Obito lets his head thunk back against the stone wall with a groan. "You better be right."

"When am I not?"

"Gee, you want a list?" Obito grumbles. "When did you decide to up and change your entire personality anyway?"

"When I watched my best friend die to save me."

Obito looks at Kakashi sharply, but Kakashi just flips a page of his book, unbothered. 

"I think it was a defining moment for all of us."

He isn't wrong. Obito knows bone deep that he will never quite be the same again after living captive under the influence of Uchiha Madara, can feel the change under his skin were green things writhe. Kakashi's differences extend past his new found sense of humor, live in the complete disregard for others opinions. The change in Rin is subtler, something brewing under her quiet composure that he can't quite see the shape of yet. Even Minato, so calm and unflappable before where it concerned his team, has uncovered an overprotective streak a mile wide.

"Kakashi..."

"Maa, don't make that face Obito. It's not necessarily a bad thing." 

Obito wrinkles his nose. "At least you got that stick out of your ass."

"That's the spirit." Kakashi says easily, and Obito is honestly not sure if he's messing with him or just that distracted by his book.

  
  


It's a long few hours later when Minato bursts through the door at their backs, making Obito jump and even Kakashi twitch.

"He's here!" Minato breathes reverently, brandishing his arms out to them stiffly, as if he's scared to drop the bundle of swaddled blankets. "Isn't he perfect?"

Obito valiantly swallows his heart back down his throat and leans in to see past the fabric. Naruto is tiny, wrinkled, and  _ adorable _ . Already he's got a respectable tuft of blond hair which is frankly surprising given his strong Uzumaki genes. 

"Oh wow, he's so small!" Obito whispers, not wanting to wake the sleeping baby.

Minato beams. "I know!"

Obito grins back, the excitement catching. "Congratulations, sensei!"

If Minato smiles any wider he'll risk splitting his face, Obito thinks with amusement as their respected Hokage practically floats back into the room to the loud demands of his wife. He looks over at Kakashi, prepared to share a laugh, but stops at the expression on his face. He's staring after Minato, after the baby, wide eyed and unmoving, his book drooping dangerously low in his hand. Obito can't read the expression at all.

"Hey... Kakashi?" He calls softly. When he doesn't get a response immediately Obito reaches over to grasp his free hand without thinking. It's Kakashi's habit, whenever Obito's upset, picked up after his rescue, and it's a grounding gesture.

"Kakashi." He repeats.

Kakashi takes a deep breath and blinks twice before refocusing back on Obito.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Obito asks cautiously.

Kakashi's eyes flicker back into the room for a moment and then back. "Yes. I'm very, very okay."

  
  


Obito is on his way home, the early morning sun bathing the streets in a clean sort of light, when an arm winds through his and a familiar figure falls into step beside him. Kakashi just left, on Minato's orders to act as messenger to the clans and announce the birth of his heir, and Obito has been on his own in the street for maybe thirty seconds.

"You're hard to get alone these days." Rin tells him, laughter in her voice. "I'm was starting to think Kakashi had fused with your shadow."

Obito smiles at her, helpless to ever do anything but. "Don't give him any ideas, I don't want him going to the Nara for tips."

Rin really does laugh now, as bright as the new light. "I'm not sure I'd put it past him, at this point."

It's true. Kakashi seems even more protective than Minato these days, practically living in Obito's apartment, and Obito would complain if he didn't need it so badly, if too much time alone in an empty room didn't leave him shaking and breathless. Rin is all too aware of this, has taken several turns babysitting him in Kakashi's stead, but she's gracious enough not to mention it.

"Speaking of Kakashi," she continues, changing the subject because she's a saint he really doesn't deserve, "I may know why some of the jounin have been gossiping about him."

Rin is a medic, and very good, but more than that she's a spy and she's even better at that. It's easy to forget, but then that's the point. Infiltration and intelligence gathering had been a large part of her role in the war and while Obito hasn't heard of her taking any infiltration missions recently, he's also starting to suspect that Minato is grooming her to be his eyes and ears in the shinobi ranks. In light of that, it's not as much of a surprise as it could be that she's applied her talents to Kakashi's problem, and also a huge relief. It's nice to know he's not the only one feeling suspicious.

"Really?" Obito asks and then lowers his voice when she pinches his arm. "Sorry..."

Rin pats at the spot she pinched, accepting the apology even as she scans their surroundings for any curious ears, and murmurs. "I don't suppose Kakashi mentioned turning down a position in ANBU?"

"What? He turned down  _ ANBU? _ " Obito whispers.

Rin nods. "That's basically everyone's reaction. ANBU is top secret of course, but somehow everyone seems to know."

"Typical." Obito mutters and grins gamely for a couple of women setting up stalls for the market.

They let the conversation hang between them as more people emerge onto the streets, as if sprouting in the increasing sunlight. Still, Obito is sure their thoughts are following the same path. Turning down ANBU is surprising sure, but it's not the cause of... _ whatever _ this is.

“What do you know about the Yamanaka‘s techniques?” Rin asks under her breath.

“Not much.” Obito admits, just as quietly. He’s not sure he likes where this is going. “I know they can take over their opponents bodies and read their minds, but that’s all.”

Rin nods, keeping up her pleasant smile as they turn a corner and pass another shop just opening for the day. “When working with allies or cooperating prisoners to verify information, T&I will usually have a Yamanaka view that person’s memories. It’s supposedly as simple as the person thinking of a memory and the Yamanaka remembering it along with them.”

“Supposedly?”

Rin’s voice drops even further, to a bare whisper Obito has to strain to hear. “In reality even with the person focusing on a specific memory the Yamanaka have to filter through a lot of miscellaneous thoughts and memories to get a clear picture of any one specifically.”

"How do you know that?" Obito hisses. 

Rin waves him off impatiently. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that the Yamanaka that viewed Kakashi's memories thought them too clean. He claims there were no random memories or thoughts in his mind while they viewed the memory."

Obito bites back a frown by chewing hard on his cheek. "And that's bad?"

"That sort of mental focus is practically unheard of outside of the Yamanaka and those few trained by them."

"And Kakashi has never been trained by them." Obito concludes. 

"Right. So while technically, Kakashi hasn't done anything but prove his claims, he still comes off looking suspicious."

"Because he's too  _ focused _ ?!"

"Because why focus so hard if you don't have something to hide?" Rin corrects and the question crawls down Obito's skin like slow melting ice.

  
  


"Kakashi!" Obito calls as he approaches the gate the next day for a last minute mission they've been assigned. His conversation with Rin has been bothering him more then he'd like to admit, but it's not the sort of problem that can be confronted head on. Well, for the most part. There is one aspect though that he can get way with talking about in public. "Why the fuck did you turn down ANBU?"

Rin, already present and sorting through her supplies, shoots him a disbelieving and despairing look. 

Kakashi just blinks up at him from where he's stretching. "Hmm, I wonder..." He muses, as if he's never thought about it before, and stares contemplatively into the distance as he drops into another lunge. 

Obito truly, deeply, understands why some people are driven to murder. He kicks at Kakashi's knee when he reaches him and isn't even surprised when Kakashi rolls out of the way. "I'm serious, you asshole."

Kakashi hops back up to his feet and continues his warm up routine as if he never stopped. "Maybe I'm just not suited for it? White hair is really terrible for clandestine missions."

Obito rolls his eyes. "Oh sure, your  _ hair's _ the problem." 

"It could be."

"It  _ isn't _ ."

"But it could be."

Obito growls. “ _ Fine _ , be that way.”

“Thank you.” Kakashi says serenely.

Rin’s sigh is both audible and pointed as she approaches them with the mission scroll. "One of these days I'm going to schedule you both in with the marriage counselor. I hear she specializes in idiots."

Obito rolls his eyes and snatches the scroll, unrolling it and angling it so Kakashi can read it from where he's hooked his chin over his shoulder.

"Elimination of the Cloud Daimyo's summer retreat? I didn't realize we needed to use intimidation already. Didn't we  _ just _ finish peace talks with Kumo?" Obito wonders aloud.

Kakashi hums and his bony chin digs into Obito's shoulder even harder as he reaches forward to run a finger down one of the lines. "It's possible Kumo's already getting twitchy. You know what they're like about bloodlines, and all the new clan heads have been producing heirs in quick succession since the war. Minato-sensei is probably trying to nip any possible kidnappings in the bud."

"The Hyuga clan head  _ is _ expecting a child soon..." Rin adds and ignores Obito's raised brow.  _ He _ certainly hadn't hear anything about that.

"In December." Kakashi agrees and turns his back on the looks both Obito and Rin are now giving him. "Come on, the place isn't going to burn itself down."

  
  


You can never plan for everything on a mission, that's a fact of shinobi life. Ninja are hired for two reasons; their stealth, and their ability to think on their feet under pressure. It's the reason they receive more then just infiltration and assassination missions, why difficult protection details and guerrilla warfare all end up at their door. Regardless of village or affiliation, ninja all fight dirty as a rule.

So it's not the surprise it could be when they are intercepted on their retreat from Cloud. The Iwa missing nin are laying in wait, and Obito doesn't have time to worry about how they could have found out about them and their route, but it nags at the back of his mind even as he throws himself back from the shimmering trap of steel wires barely visible in the shadowed trees.

Kakashi flicks three fingers out behind the cover of his tanto in a familiar gesture and Obito promptly throws out a fireball jutsu as Rin slips into a defensive crouch behind them as they've practiced. Obito knows she's preparing one of the nastier poisons in her arsenal to release on Kakashi's signal, so he prepares to fulfill his own roll and throws himself at one of the three figures dropping down from the trees right alongside Kakashi.

Rin's poison proves to be unnecessary, their unexpected assailants skilled, but not outside of Obito's and Kakashi's abilities. It's a smooth battle, their teamwork as good as Obito has been hoping for. It's not their first mission after Obito's return, but it still leaves a novel sort of thrill in Obito's blood to have Kakashi pacing him only a few steps away. It almost feels like time has skipped over Obito's captivity entirely, like the three of them went straight from the Kannabi Bridge mission into this one, ready to utilize their new teamwork.

It hasn't though, and Obito isn't the only one changed by his time confined by Madara. 

He doesn't think anything of it at first when he decides to intercede in Kakashi's battle. Kakashi is facing the last missing nin standing and he hardly needs assistance, but it's the way of Konoha shinobi to work together wherever possible, so Obito raises one hand and focuses on the roots he can feel in the ground briefly before snapping out a hand seal and willing the roots up to trip the nin. Perhaps predictably, it doesn't work as well as Obito intends, the mokuton sluggish and stubborn, the roots only rising half heartedly and with barely any strength. The former Iwa nin doesn't so much as stumble. 

Obito lets out a frustrated breath and gives up on that line of attack, instead letting his sharingan spin into the mangekyo and sliding as easily as breathing into kamui. 

Kakashi is swinging forward with chidori when Obito emerges behind the missing nin and he reacts automatically, reaching out to snag the man by the arms, breaking his focus on the seals the man had been forming out of Kakashi's line of sight and more importantly holding him still long enough for Kakashi to drive his hand through his heart. The sound of chirping birds cuts off as abruptly as the man in Obito's hold goes rigid and then slumps to the ground. Obito lets him drop, wrinkling his nose a little at the charred smell that goes along with that particular jutsu, and turns to Kakashi, grin already tugging at his lips, because that jump through kamui was  _ good _ especially compared to his first few attempts. 

Kakashi is standing frozen, his face white as a sheet, eye so wide the white is showing, and Obito feels the smile drop off his face under a rush of uncertainty. 

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi makes a choked sound and reaches for Obito, his bloody hand digging into his shirt above his heart. 

"Don't...do that.." Kakashi forces out between gasping breaths and then he's dragging Obito down with him as his knees buckle.

"Kakashi! Hey-!" Obito yelps, fumbling for the other boy's shoulders to prop him up.

“I thought I- thought was going to _ hit you _ -“ Kakashi wheezes.

Rin appears at their side as if by hiraishin, one hand already at Kakashi's neck to feel his pulse. "Kakashi," she says far more calmly then Obitio feels the situation warrants, "I'm going to need you to breath with me."

If Kakashi hears her he gives no sign of it, but Rin just inhales audibly, slow and steady and then releases the breath just as sedately. A sharp glance over Kakashi's shoulder has Obito following suit.

It takes several long, agonizing, minutes for Kakashi to match them and stop clutching at Obito's shirt like it's a lifeline.

"That's why." He rasps once he has the breath.

He doesn't notice the confused look Obitio and Rin share over his head.

"Why what?" Obito asks carefully.

Kakashi’s laugh is shaky. "Why I turned down ANBU. I've got too many triggers."

“I’m sorry.” Obito says helplessly. “I didn’t think-“

Kakashi shakes his head, swallowing visibly, but he doesn't offer anything else. 

Obito had forgotten for a moment how his captivity has affected those around him. Maybe he doesn't understand why Kakashi reacts as if he'd been the one to strike him down, but he sees it. And he won't forget again.

  
  


Kakashi is nothing if not a resilient son of a bitch, and by the time they reached the village he's plastered on an expression of fake cheer so aggravating Obito wants to punch him. He's not sure what it says about the two of them that Kakashi's stupid habit of hiding his pain drives Obito to such heights of frustration, as if he's entitled to Kakashi's innermost thoughts the way it feels Kakashi always knows his, but he's not about to mention it to Rin if only to spare himself the pointed comment about their growing codependency. 

It’s probably for the best Kakashi is stuck in Minato’s office going over the mission report for the fourth time, which means Obito can try to find that inner calm the Uchiha elders are always talking about and hope it’ll keep him from punching Kakashi in his lying face to knock the facade loose. Inner calm is hard to find though, when Minato’s assistant is a Hyuga just barely less suspicious of Kakashi then the Yamanaka and is the sole reason Kakashi’s being held back at all. The injustice burns like a smouldering fire in the pit of his stomach. It’s not the same as his own plight, Kakashi is not being treated with disregard for any lack of ability, but the suspicion is still isolating and it’s  _ not right _ . Kakashi is the last person who deserves that sort of treatment after all he's given to the village, even if he is an asshole. And Obito remembers clearly the story of Kakashi’s father. Remembers telling Kakashi his father was a  _ hero _ for choosing his comrades over the mission even if it got him killed, and then Kakashi had gone and done the same thing. Obito doesn't want to think the parallels could continue now, not when Kakashi has people around him who don't buy into the rumors, but.... But the 'what if' makes him  _ angry _ . (Because Kakashi is  _ exactly _ the sort of idiot to commit ritual suicide if given half a chance.)

He’ll have to go back and excavate Rin from the archives where she’s disappeared eventually, but for the moment he stalks through the trees of the abandoned training ground behind the Academy and tries to lose the seething anger to the darkening evening. The clouds are already spitting rain from the sky, but it’s warm enough that Obito doesn’t care. The grounds are comforting in a way he doubts they would have been before Madara got his fingers into his DNA, the ground levelled back down by doton jutsus, but the plant life odd and misshapen where it’s grown up around chakra scars from years of shinobi training.

Obito wanders aimlessly, follows the easiest path his feet take through the long grass and scraggly bushes, and is more than a little surprised when he steps around a stand of young trees and finds someone else already there. 

The man is facing away, but somehow Obito gets the feeling he's been waiting instead of admiring the greenery. Shimura Danzo turns smoothly to face him, and while Obito has never met him in person he recognizes him easily enough.

"Ah, sorry." He says quickly, stepping back and moving to leave again. "I didn't mean to interrupted you."

"It's quite alright. Uchiha Obito, isn't it?" Danzo says calmly, his own single eye inscrutable as he watches him. "I believe your team just returned from a mission."

Obito hadn't thought anyone outside Minato knew that, but he hasn't paid much attention to the council's role in everyday missions. "Er, yes sir."

Danzo nods, folding his hands comfortably on top of his cane. "And how is the Hatake boy? I must say I've been concerned for him since he turned down ANBU."

Obito does his best not to scowl at that, but he's never been as good at masking his emotions as his teammates, yet alone the rest of his clan, and he knows his mouth his pulling tight with tension against his will anyway. "He's fine. Sir."

Danzo eyes him for a moment before inclining his head. "Hatake has alway performed all his missions admirably. Tell me Uchiha, have you ever considered ANBU for yourself?"

Obito blinks hard in surprise. "Me?"

"Root specifically. I feel you and Hatake would bring much to our organization."

Obito wants to laugh at the idea. "I don't think so sir. I'm not what you're looking for, and Kakashi's already turned you down." He drops into a quick bow and turns to leave, more than a little irritated by the entire conversation.

Danzo's voice doesn't need to be particularly loud to carry a distinct note of command as he calls after him. “Speak to him, Uchiha. Root would be safer for him, and it would truly be a shame for him to go the way of his father.”

The world coalesces into perfect clarity in the space of a heartbeat. “What?”

“Surely you’ve noticed the distrust growing." Danzo continues, voice still calm and deafeningly loud in the silence of trees. "Even Sarutobi doubts him. There is not much more the Yondaime can do to stop it from spreading."

Obito turns back, turns to face the man fully, and truly look at him. "Oh...so that's it." He breathes like a revelation.

Danzo looks nonplussed and straightens under Obito's unwavering gaze. "Pardon?"

"I thought it was strange that Kakashi's standing keeps falling even when he does nothing but excel." Obito muses, tilting his head and noting absently that fury can feel white hot, and at the same time colder than ice in his chest. "But it's not falling; you're dragging it down."

Danzo's lips thin. "Careful of what you are insinuating, boy."

Obito ignores him and steps forward across the muddy grass. "You took advantage of the interrogators suspicions. Because  _ you're _ just as suspicious."

Danzo's hands tighten on his cane, but he makes no move to summon the guards he must have. He hasn't realized that he's lost control of the conversation yet.

"You want to control him." Obito continues. "Or eliminate him. Same with me, right? Are you going to drag me off to a different cave and cut me up again?" 

"I merely want to ensure your safety." Danzo counters calmly, soothing.  _ Lying _ . 

Obito bares his teeth and doesn't even pretend it's a smile, lets it pull at his scars. "Like you ensured Hatake Sakumo's?" 

Danzo moves, hand signaling for the guards, chakra gathering, but Obito doesn't need that sort of time to prepare. The earth around him is alive with growth, teeming, waiting, and it explodes from the ground with Obito's rage. Roots snapping like the teeth of a beast's jaw, trees sprouting to their full height in the space of a thought, curling unnaturally around their prey, dripping flowers tumbling out of any left over space, vines crawling out of the dirt and inching like snakes towards the mass of plant life suddenly engulfing Danzo. They tear him apart with the crack of hundreds of bones breaking, the splatter of blood indistinguishable from the rain.

Obito turns as the Root agents lunge from their positions in the trees, sharingan spinning, and it's easy to use Kakashi's trick as they reach him, to let the lower halves of their bodies tumble past him to join their torsos as they fall out of kamui behind him.

Obito steps over the body parts as he approaches what's left of Danzo's flesh, peeking out from the knot of branches and greenery. His skull is shattered, unrecognizable, and Obito smooths a hand down one of the roots humming with energy.

"I don't need your organization to protect Kakashi." He murmurs. "But you'll be useful fertilizer. Kinda fitting."

The wood shudders and creaks as it retreats, and Obito watches as it drags the bones and flesh down into the disrupted earth, each new piece of life sliding back until there's nothing left of what was once Danzo. Behind him he can feel the same happening to the Root agents, sees the grass sprout around him in the newly turned earth, watches the ground settle until even the blood has been soaked away and the clearing is smooth again.

Obito breathes in the scent of rain and lets it wash away the ice in his chest. In the wake of the anger comes relief, gentle as the rain, and Obito lets it settle before he turns and walks back towards the village.

It's been far longer then he intended and he's probably missed Rin completely by now, so he takes to the empty streets. Everyone else has taken shelter from the rain as evening deepens the sky behind the clouds to darkness, and lights start coming on in every restaurant and shop along his path.

"I don't know why you keep up the fire jutsus," a familiar voice drawls from above, "you're clearly a kappa in disguise."

Obito looks up automatically, blinking rain out of his eye. Kakashi is sitting on the wall he's passing, red umbrella cocked against his shoulder like an afterthought, and amusement crinkling his visible skin with laugh lines. Obito feels his breath catch in his chest in a rush as he looks at him, every unconscious emotion and thought slotting into place like puzzle pieces.

_ I would kill for you, _ Obito thinks,  _ I would kill for you _ again.

"Was that supposed to be witty, Bakashi?"

"Hmm, it's not my fault you don't have a proper sense of humor." Kakashi says as he slides off the wall, umbrella coming up to block out the sky completely. "Come on, Kushina is forcing Minato-sensei's cooking on us. Rin's already there."

Obito winces reflexively. "Minato-sensei makes  _ terrible _ ramen."

"Unfortunately." Kakashi agrees, twirling his umbrella absently so raindrops fly out to hit Obito full in the face.

Obito splutters and wipes futilely at his face, only now registering that he is already thoroughly soaked. "What the hell, Bakashi! Couldn't you share the umbrella instead of drenching me?!"

Kakashi glances innocently over at him. "But you're already wet."

Obito scowls. "Some friend you are."

Kakashi smiles, delighted. "I really am."

Obito barks out a laugh before he can help it. "You're an idiot." 

Kakashi just hums vaguely and Obito tips his head up to look at the sky, letting the rain run over his face again. There are no stars to be seen, nothing but black past the circle of lamplight. "Hey, Kakashi?"

"Mm?"

"I think I’m going to become Hokage."

Kakashi is silent so long Obito looks back down again and meets his gaze, solemn where a moment ago it had been light. 

"Okay." He finally says, simple and easy. "I'll help. As long as we aren't assassination Minato-sensei for the job."

Obito grins. "Nah. I've got work to do first anyway."

"Ominous." Kakashi notes and shifts ever so slightly to catch Obito under the umbrella's protection. "I like it."

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I feel like this series has a third part, but I don't see the shape of it yet so...  
> Find me on tumblr as: momoyomaki


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